Objectives:
To determine the prevalence of areca nut chewing habit and different characteristics of regularand occasional areca nut chewers among school going children in Karachi.
Methodology:
A cross sectional study was conducted in government and private schools of nine towns selectedfrom total eighteen towns of Karachi from January 2010 to June 2012. A stratified cluster random samplingwas used to select study sample, representative of all school going children in Karachi.
Results:
A total of 3,107, aged 7-16 years (50.7% female and 49.3% male students) were interviewed andexamined. Majority of sample 60.2% were drawn from private schools and 39.8% from government schools. Result showed that 40.8% children chewed areca nut regularly, 39% occasionally and 20.2% rarely.
Conclusion:
The prevalence of areca nut chewing habit among school going children in Karachi was foundhigh (40.8%). The regular areca nut chewing habit was found to be related with addiction potential of arecanut, use of tobacco containing areca nut products and low socioeconomic status of students.